Sony Says the ‘Door Is Closed’ to Returning Spider-Man to the MCU

If you have been holding your breath, hoping Sony and Marvel might work out some deal that would allow Spider-Man to continue appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Stop that. You’re going to kill yourself.

According to Variety, Sony Pictures chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra said publicly today that “for the moment the door is closed,” as far as Spidey in the MCU is concerned. Sony and Marvel have been unable to work out a new deal that would allow them to continue sharing the beloved character in movies, the way they have since Captain America: Civil War in 2016.

More from Vinciquerra:

We had a great run with (Feige) on Spider-Man movies. We tried to see if there’s a way to work it out….the Marvel people are terrific people, we have great respect for them, but on the other hand we have some pretty terrific people of our own. Kevin didn’t do all the work.

This is not happy news for Spidey fans. Sure, the movie franchise will continue at Sony, with Tom Holland in the title role. And Holland is an, ahem, amazing Spider-Man. But it’s been wonderful seeing Spidey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, interacting with Iron Man, Captain America, and Nick Fury. The cliffhanger ending of Far From Home really set up some interesting directions for the character — most of which will now have to be abandoned because they’d only work in the MCU. That’s a bummer. Spider-Man: Far From Home arrives on Digital HD on September 17, or on Blu-ray on October 1.